This document discusses developing effective tests. It outlines key considerations when planning a test such as determining the content and cognitive skills to be measured. It also discusses test items, functions of language tests, Bloom's taxonomy, and factors that influence test format and length. Guidelines are provided for writing clear, appropriate test items and developing tests at a suitable difficulty level. The stages of test construction and criteria for a good test are also summarized.

1. Developing and
Using
Tests
Effectively
Mrs. Marites Saldivar Tenedor

2. Planning a Test
Two Vital Parts
 The content, skills or processes
that will be covered on the test
 The cognitive skills to be
measured-Bloom’s Taxonomy

3. Test Items/
Assessment/Measurement /
Evaluation
 It is a specific task that test takers are asked
to perform.
 The act of gathering information on a daily
basis to understand individual learning &
needs.
 Broader than testing, it includes attendance,
records, quest
 The culminating act of interpreting the
information gathered.

4. Functions of Language Test
 In learning – tests are used to measure
students’ language ability , to discover how
much they have been learning, to diagnose
students’ strengths and weaknesses, and to
motivate students in learning.
 In Teaching – tests are used as a means to
ensure effective teaching, to improve
teaching quality, to obtain feedback on
student learning. Back wash effect
 In Research – language
proficiency,processing, acquisition and
teaching

5. Bloom’s Revised Cognitive Taxonomy
 Test items should require test takers to use
different levels of intellectual skills to produce
a response

6. KNOWLEDGE
COMPREHENSION
APPLICATION
ANALYSIS
SYNTHESIS
EVALUATION

7. KNOWLEDGE
Emphasis is on
recall whether of
specifics or
universals

8. COMPREHENSION
Emphasis is on grasp of
meaning, intent or
relationship in oral,
written, graphic, or non-
verbal communication

9. APPLICATION
Emphasis is on
applying appropriate
principles or
generalizations

10. ANALYSIS
 Emphasis is on breakdown into
constituent parts and detection
of relationships of the parts and
of the way they are organized.
Analysis is often an aid to
comprehension or prelude to
evaluation

11. SYNTHESIS
Emphasis is on putting
together elements or
parts to form a whole not
clearly there before the
student performance

12. EVALUATION
Emphasis is on values,
making qualitative or
quantitative judgments with
criteria from internal or
external sources and with
standards

13. Other Factors that Influence
what Kind of Test to Give
 Size of your class
 Time availability
 Scoring or checking of the test
 What has been taught/stressed
 The cognitive level of response
expected

14. How Long Should the Test Be?
Test length is mostly
influenced by the time
available

15. Rule of Thumb
 True and false ------- 30 seconds each
 Multiple choice ------ one minute each
 Completion items ---- one minute
each
 Short answer items ---- two minutes
each
 Multiple choice requiring higher level
thinking -- 90 seconds

16.  Matching items -------------- 30
seconds each
 Short essays ----------------- 10-
15
minutes
 Extended essay ------------- 30
minutes (2-3 pages)

17. Other Time Considerations
 A reasonable number of items for
a fifty-minute multiple choice test
is 50 items, for a true or false test
it would be 80-90 items.
 The fastest student will typically
finish a test in about half the time
as the slowest student.

18.  Keep in mind the greater the
number of items the better the
reliability of the test.
 However, the test should allow
almost every student to attempt
every question.

19. What about using an optional
items or student choice test?
 Permitting students to choose which of
several test questions to answer is not
considered sound measurement
practice. The test actually becomes
several different tests and therefore you
are not evaluating each student on the
same basis. Also, this type of test may
cause students to not study all of the
material.

20. General Guidelines for Test
Item Development
 Test for important ideas and
skills—not trivial details—
continually ask the question,
"What knowledge, ability or
skills are most worthwhile for
students to know?"

21. Write items as simply as possible,
making certain that the students
know exactly what information is
being requested—It is easy to be
confusing because teachers
know the information so well
that they often do not recognize
what they take for granted or
assume students know

22. Make items appropriate for
the age and ability levels of
the students. The cognitive
developmental level of students
needs to be taken into account
as well as vocabulary, cultural
and other background
information.

23.  Students that are dualistic
thinkers will have great
difficulty with questions that
require them to deal with
situations which may have
many possible answers or
solutions.

24. Make certain that objective
questions have only one
correct or one best answer.
Ask students for the best
answer—as some very
effective distracters can have
elements of correctness to
them.

25. Avoid irrelevant clues and
"give away" items—
subject verb agreement,
grammatical clues, similar
words in the stem of the
question as in the
answers, etc.

26. Have someone else
review the test before
giving it to the
students—they can
often see the lack of
clarity, or unintended
clues.

27. Developing Test Items
Recommendation is
to use items that 50-
70% of the students
can answer correctly.

28. The items should be
difficult enough that
students that did not
study will get it wrong
but students that did
study will get it right.

29. A few items may be
used to challenge the
upper end of your
students, but the
general rule is that the
items should be of
average difficulty.

30. What makes an item difficult?
The content it asks
about
The cognitive skill being
measured

31. The students’
learning experience
The construction of
the item itself

32. PHASES OF EVALUATION
PREPARATION PHASE
ASSESSMENT PHASE
EVALUATION PHASE
REFLECTION PHASE

33. STAGES OF TEST
CONSTRUCTION
 1. PLANNING ( GOAL, FORMAT, TASK)
 2. DESIGN ( COLLECTING, WRITING,
EVALUATING, REWRITING)
 3. DEVELOPMENT ( PILOTING , REVISING)

34. CRITERIA OF A GOOD TEST
 RELEVANCE
 REPRESENTATIVITY
 AUTHENTICITY
 BALANCE
 VALIDITY
 RELIABILITY